A real share of senior roles get filled before, or shortly after, they hit a job board. Internal candidate, referral, a recruiter's shortlist. You can get into that window deliberately.
1. Build a 30-company target list. Companies at the stage and in the space your seniority maps to. This is your radar.
2. Watch for hiring signals. New funding, a new VP joining (they build teams), product launches, expansion into a new market, a competitor's layoffs. Each is a signal that roles are about to open.
3. Reach the likely hiring manager before the posting. Find the VP/Director who would own your role. Send a specific, low-stakes note referencing something they actually posted or said. Not "are you hiring," but a real comment plus one genuine question about their work.
4. Talk to people who just joined. Someone who started in the last 90 days knows what's about to be hired next on their team. A 15-minute call is often more useful than the careers page.
5. Keep the list warm. Comment substantively on target-company leaders' posts for a few weeks before you reach out. Then your DM doesn't come from nowhere.
The hidden market isn't a secret. It's just upstream of the job board, and most people only fish downstream.
— Dr. Hosney Adel